


Just a Dream

by tmntstyle



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Death, Dreams, Fluff, looking back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 09:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11871003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmntstyle/pseuds/tmntstyle
Summary: If you dreamed that your family was killed at the hands of a god, would you struggle to sleep? Leo had this issue, but realized he wasn't the only one affected by Jei's illusion.





	Just a Dream

_The crunch of metal piercing plastron…_

_A faint gasp…_

_“MIKEY!”_

Leonardo sat up, inhaling rapidly as his heart attempted to burst from his chest. The blue masked ninja, clad in samurai garb, glanced around the campfire at his traveling companions. To his left, Raphael and Donatello slept peacefully, sticking close for warmth. Directly across from him, the samurai rabbit, Usagi, and his young ward, Kintaro, huddled by the fire.

Steeling himself, Leo shifted to look on his right. A long sigh of relief pushed past his lips, puffing out a cloud of air in front of him. Michelangelo, the youngest brother, was sound asleep. Leo placed a hand on his chest in an attempt to calm his still rapidly beating heart. Just another dream.

_Still._

Still, he could hear the sickening sound of Jei’s blade as it was embedded into his brother’s gut  . . . still see his limp body tumbling down the cliffside. The memory sent a tremor through him, forcing him to his feet.

He had to move. Had to _forget_.

Leo turned and ventured toward the edge of the cave his group had found after the illusion created by Jei. Even though Leo knew it had only been a dream, it still felt real; it felt possible.

Sitting down, Leo let his feet dangle over the edge, thankful his family was too far to fall off. He looked up, trying to find any constellations he might recognize from home. There! Orion’s Belt.

A faint smile graced his face at the small connection to home. They were so close  . . .

Leo jumped when someone sat beside him a hand on his shoulder. He immediately relaxed when he recognized the orange mask of Mikey.

“What are you doing up?” he asked in a whisper.

Mikey shrugged and dropped his hand to his lap, looking up at the sky as he answered in an equally soft whisper, “Couldn’t sleep.” Mikey glanced at his oldest brother, his light blue eyes shining under the light of the full moon.

“Were you thinking about Jei?”

Leo nodded, drawing his knees up to his chest. He rested his chin upon them and sighed. Mostly, I’ve been thinking about what happened with Jei and how much I wish we were home.”

Mikey shifted, his right hand resting upon the place he had been stabbed in the dream; although, to him, it felt all too real and still hurt as if it actually happened. He wouldn’t tell Leo that, knowing how worried he’d be.

“D-Do you think Jei knows about our  . . . inner thoughts and secrets? Our fears and weaknesses?”

Leo stared at Mikey with wide eyes, giving him his full attention. He cleared his throat to find his voice. “Why do you ask, Mikey? I feel like something is on your mind.” He saw Mikey shrug, though glimpsed a slight quiver of his lips.

“Mikey, what’s wrong? You can talk to me; tell me anything.” Leo looked at his brother with concern evident on his face. It pained him when any of his brothers were upset, especially Mikey. He seemed so much more innocent, though he had been through the same struggles as his brothers.

Mikey brought his free hand to his face, brushing tears off his cheeks that Leo hadn’t seen begin to fall. “It- It’s ju-ust  . . .” Mikey’s voice cracked and he sniffled, sucking in a steadying breath. “The ways we all d-died. I can’t h-help but think Jei used our fears against us.”

Leo wrapped an arm around Mikey’s shoulders, tugging his brother closer to his side. He didn’t like where this conversation was going, but he wanted Mikey to let out what he needed to. He kept his mouth shut.

Mikey rested his head on Leo’s shoulder, continuing by saying, “Remember when Karai had us all in different places that were impossible to escape alone? Raph was in a room with lots of fire and heat. He was literally being cooked to death. Jei must have known that, since he blew fire at Raph to make him fall and  . . .” Mikey stopped, shuddering at the details his brothers relayed of their deaths. “And Donnie. I mean, when April went all crazy with that crystal, she obliterated Donnie in mid-air. We both know he’s still shaken up about it.”

Leo nodded, remembering the devastation of seeing Donnie’s body ripped apart and his molecules scattered throughout the world. He shut his eyes, not wanting to think about it.

“Jei literally levitated Donnie in the air and crushed all of his bones. Can you imagine what that probably felt like? Everything inside you just busted up and shredded. All of his organs were probably torn apart by that.” He shuddered.

“You, Leo, have always felt it’s your job to protect us, especially after you became our sensei. Jei tore us away from you to make you feel weak and useless. He _knew_ what to use against us in order to win. That’s what’s so scary about that dream.”

“Wait a minute, Mikey,” Leo stared down at him, eyes searching his face for something  . . . he wasn’t sure what. “What about what happened to you? Are you afraid of being stabbed?”

Mikey shuddered and covered his face with both hands, his shoulders shaking as unwanted tears spilled down his face. Instantly alert, Leo pulled Mikey closer and rubbed his carapace. Only on rare occasions did Leo get to see his brother in such a vulnerable state.

Mikey’s voice, so soft that Leo had to rest his head atop the younger’s, cracked as he spoke. “I-It’s not that I’m s-scared of being stabbed. I  . . . I felt like Shredder was there i-inste-ead. It’s how he k-kill-” Mikey choked, unable to keep speaking as sobs wracked his exhausted body.

Leo stared out into the distance with wide eyes, the truth unspoken between them. They had all seen Shredder stab their father  . . . twice. To have experienced it like that, Leo shouldn’t have been surprised by Mikey’s fear. He wasn’t afraid of the blade and what it could do, but what it had done to their family.

Tightening his hold on Mikey, Leo turned his chin to press a brief kiss to the top of the freckled head. “Oh Mikey, I’m so sorry. It reminded me of Splinter, too. I didn’t think about how that would affect you and I wish I could take it away. I’m so glad it was just a dream.”

Slowly, Mikey’s shaking turned into light tremors. He sniffled and tilted his head up to look at Leo. Compassionate, sad eyes met his. It was almost enough to start up another round of sobs.

“Tha-Thanks, Leo.” His voice came out scratchy after having cried so heavily. “It’s just n-ice to have someone to t-talk to, you know?”

Leo nodded, understanding what it meant to have someone be a listening ear. He had had that with Splinter, before he was taken from them. It was then that Leo realized his responsibility to his brothers as not just their leader or sensei, but also as their older brother who they could rely on.

“So  . . .” Yawn. “We should sleep.” Leo nodded to his younger brother, standing with him and walking back to the fire. Fatigue was obvious in the way both walked. Once near the warm blaze, both settled next to each other.

Mikey smiled and closed his eyes, his face radiating peaceful as sleep readily took him in its arms. Leo glanced across the fire, grinning tiredly as Usagi stood up and stretched. It was time to switch watch anyway. Leo was relieved to get back to sleep. He reached out and brushed away a stray tear from Mikey’s freckled cheek.

He would be there for his brothers. Even though he couldn’t control what happened in the land of dreams, he could look after them in reality. That’s where they needed him most, and he wasn’t planning to let them down.

With that in mind, Leo rolled onto his back and stared at the sky. As he counted the stars, his eyelids grew heavy until he couldn’t help but close them and welcome sleep.

His dreams were just that, dreams.


End file.
